Here
by Briar N-Chant
Summary: Raven is still reeling from her break-up with Dexter when Faybelle and Briar just have to force her to go to one of those raging parties they like so much...things couldn't get any worse, right? Dexven, song fic. One-shot, mention of Darise, Happle and rated T for slight drug use.
So, I decided to pen up a MUCH happier companion to my SpellLine Bling fic. Now, this fic will make waaaaaay more sense if you look at SpellLine Bling first but, you can read it by itself if you really want to. I do not own 'Here' by Alessia Clara which I have adapted into somewhat EAH lexicon and to reflect Raven's POV. Enjoy!

* * *

 _I'm sorry if I seem uninterested_

 _O_ _r I'm not listenin', or I'm indifferent_

 _Truly, I ain't got no business here,_

 _But since my friends are here, I just came to kick it_

While Raven was alright with embracing her fame of being the princess who had lived since choosing her own destiny and having gone on to live her own story, she was wondering if this was really worth it anymore.

The slew of interview bookings across various lands and finally having been interviewed by Blondie Lockes was nice but, none of that or even the partying that followed took away the empty feeling deep in Raven's heart. She was not the only one to live since choosing her own story. But, perhaps it was the evil connotation associated with her mother than caused everyone to react in such a shocked yet enthused way.

Raven tried enjoying the party scene and her lie to herself that she actually enjoyed that atmosphere worked for a while but, she couldn't continue to lie to herself of all people.

"Raven, I get it. The partying has never really been your scene," Briar had started as she was helping Faybelle lace up her corset top.

"Well, isn't that all the more reason for me not to go?" Raven thought she had a pretty good point there.

"Not at all," Faybelle rolled her eyes at Raven, "Sweetie, Briar and I never had any intention of being friends when her spinning skills are pretty great, I have the dance experience from all the cheerleading I did in high school and since we got over it how many music videos has she helped me book?"

"And, how many parties have I spun at? How many singles have I helped produce for you?" Briar was all smiles.

Raven got what they were saying: Do the unexpected because the results could provide endless possibilities. Yeah? Well, up and leaving the land she'd always called home and abruptly ending things with Dexter sure did wonders for Raven…

Putting out music and being such the talk of the land was great but, Raven was often lonely at night and wanting nothing more than someone to hold her.

And, she envied Briar and DJ N-Chant a little bit because of the way that Briar would bring him little snacks if they were working late in the studio and often hung around to feed him and then became the designated coffee getter for the rest of the night and eventually gave her musical feedback which nine times out of ten, N-Chant agreed with.

"I got it, I'm not getting out of this one," Raven sighed, "I'll get ready."

"Good! Besides, it helps if you're there while I play your new single!" Briar's voice was practically a shriek from all of the excitement she was feeling.

 _But really I would rather be at home all by myself_

 _Not in this castle with these fairytales who don't even care about my well-being_

 _I don't dance, don't ask, I don't need a boyfriend_

 _So you can go back, please enjoy your party_

One thing that Raven had picked up on was that arriving on time to a party was just not the way to do things. No, not even if you were playing the music as Briar had explained. Parties were meant to come crashing into late as if to signify the right moment; similar to a rescue. Upon arrival, everything was suddenly fair game. That meant drinks, possible suitors, a mistake to make for one night and anything else that came in tow with these choices.

Raven resolved that since she had agreed to come willingly, it made more sense to get drunk and very quickly. Time would pass faster that way and if she really did feel tired, she could go hide in the carriage until Briar and Faybelle were ready to leave.

Closing her eyes, Raven took a long sip of her drink. It was a sparkling purple drink of sorts. Whatever it was, Briar had a pink one and Faybelle had a silver one due to Briar's idea that they should all have drinks to match their outfits.

Briar had since disappeared to go and spin thus switching off with Melody Piper while Faybelle was in a corner far of the room sandwiched between two very muscular princes who might just end up being her company for the night.

"Well, well. If it isn't the evil princess who defied destiny and survived." Said a voice, thus pulling Raven out of her thoughts.

The voice's natural sound was somewhat muffled by the roaring music in this palace.

Raven didn't bother looking up from the plastic cup in her hand as she tried to come up with some kind of answer. Again, Raven was by no means the only one who had denied destiny and survived. But, the evil quip surely meant that the comment was meant for her and her alone.

 _I'll be here…_

 _Somewhere in the corner_

 _Under clouds of fairyjuana with this boy who's hollerin'_

 _And I can hardly hear_

"Look, I figure you're probably just doing your best to be nice or maybe you've even heard my latest single on the radio or saw my performance at the Bookball Rose Bowl but, I'm really not looking for a romance of any sort. I honestly do appreciate you coming over to talk to me, though. I understand that I must look lonely hanging back and away from the actual party as I am and…" Raven continued to ramble on, "Actually, on that note it's very difficult to talk in here what with this music, the noise from drinks being made and everyone attempting to fight the noise in general. I don't want to be rude in any way, shape, or form so…"

A certain laughter, a very Charming laugh, in fact, seemed to drown out the senseless noise of the room for a brief moment.

 _Over this music I don't listen to_

 _And I don't wanna get with you_

 _So tell my friends that I'll be over here_

"Miss Queen, m'lady, I suggest you relax," Daring Charming chuckled, "In fact, Cerise and I were about to slip out and perhaps partake in some fairyjuana. If you'd like to join us, you're more than welcome to."

"Daring!?" Raven finally looked up from her cup, "What are you doing here?"

"You might be a rising music spellebrity but, that doesn't mean you're the hottest spellebrity couple at the moment," Daring raised his glass and took a sip.

Instantly, the golden-haired prince turned green and while it looked like a struggle, he managed to swallow the remnants of whatever was in his cup.

"On that note," Daring regained his composure, "Do not drink the Dragon Scale Juice. Enjoy the rest of the night. The invitation to slip out with Cerise and I still stands."

"You two go ahead, have a good night!" Raven insisted.

Daring nodded in understanding, made it a point to bow quickly and made his way back over to Cerise. The two shared a quick peck on the lips before finally making their exit.

 _Oh oh oh here, oh oh oh here_

 _Oh oh oh I asked myself, what am I doin' here?_

 _Oh oh oh here, oh oh oh here_

 _And I can't wait 'til we can break up out of here_

It was beyond Raven how she had missed Daring and even Cerise at this party. They used to hang out all the time—Well, to be fair, they used to go on double dates with her and Dexter.

Wait a second, if Daring and Cerise were here…No!

There she went again with the being all hung up on Dexter. Raven downed what was left in her cup and resolved to get a refill.

If she was being honest with herself, this was refill number 5 of various liquor mixtures that different bartenders had been offering. Even though the open bar was an option, Raven didn't necessarily care about all the alcohols mixing in her cup.

Maybe going against Daring's advice of drinking the Dragon Scale Juice was just what she needed. One sip of that might finally make her physically experience the awfulness of how she felt emotionally.

Shutting everyone else out was not going to change things between her and Dexter. Raven was certain that Daring knew what had transpired between her and his younger brother but, he had still walked over and said hello…

 _Excuse me if I seem a little unimpressed with this_

 _An antisocial pessimist_ _but, usually I don't mess with this_

 _And I know you mean only the best_

 _And your intentions aren't to bother me but, honestly I'd rather be_

 _Somewhere with my people, we can kick it_

 _And just listen to some music with a message, (Like we usually do)_

 _And we'll discuss our big dreams, how we plan, to take over the planet_

 _So pardon my manners, I hope you'll understand that I'll be here (Ooh)_

All of this thinking and getting at herself in her own head completely unfocused Raven from the party atmosphere and she all but ended up face first in the tub of Dragon Dust Juice.

"Whoa!" Raven had been caught just in the knick of time.

"Don't worry, I've got you," A much gentler voice spoke this time.

"Thanks, I really appreciate the…" Raven turned her head to look at the face of her savior, "Dexter?"

"Raven?" Dexter was certain that his heart had stopped until it began beating much louder and faster.

"What're you doing here!?" The pair asked each other in unison.

 _Not there in the kitchen_

 _With the girl who's always gossipin' about her friends_

 _Oh tell them I'll be here_

 _(Ooh) right next to the boy who's throwin' up_

 _'Cause he can't take what's in his cup no more_

 _Oh God, why am I here?_

Explanations had never quite been either Dexter or Raven's strong suit. But, the gist of the situation was that they both had no intention of going out tonight, however, being coaxed by those close to them had brought them to this debacle of a party.

"Who's even hosting this thing? It's complete chaos," Dexter commented.

"Not sure but, it might be out tomorrow in the Daily Decree," Raven offered.

"Briar is really good at the DJ thing. I heard she did some production work on the song you just put out," Dexter changed the subject.

"Well, sort of…" Raven blushed and chuckled thinking about the reality of that situation.

 _Oh oh oh here, oh oh oh here_

 _Oh oh oh I asked myself, what am I doin' here?_

 _Oh oh oh here, oh oh oh here_

 _And I can't wait 'til we can break up out of here_

The reason that Briar had been given production credit on Raven's latest song was because on a day that Raven had been moping about the studio Briar had flat out told her what she needed to do.

"Why don't you take two seconds to stop being sorry for yourself and channel it? I'm not saying you have to sing it out or anything but, if you're really feeling this bad, it's worth making a note of." The way Briar's high heels had clicked against the studio stairs as she ran off to go and grab some lunch made it very apparent that she was fed up with Raven's self-pity filled attitude.

With Briar's advice, Raven had written a new song and they had recorded it by the end of the day.

Speaking of recordings, songs, and music…The studio was a place where Raven wished she could escape to right now. She had more than enough lyrics to write down now that she was seeing Dexter for the first time since his failures of getting in touch with her.

Whenever Dexter had tried reaching out to Raven, she had been off and away doing more and more album promotion and she did not spend time on her own MyChapter pages because in order to protect the brand of all of the musical artists at N-Chant Records, each artist had a designated media team running their respective social media pages and accounts.

As per her contract, Raven was not allowed to disclose that to someone who was not her spouse so, this would have to remain on the hush for now.

"Funny story or not, Briar really did help me," Raven smiled, "Would you by any chance want to leave?"

"You mean, with you?" Dexter's glasses fogged up as his cheeks went bright red.

 _Hours later congregatin' next to the refrigerator_

 _Some girl's talkin' 'bout a hater, she ain't got none_

 _How did it ever come to this? I should've never come to this_

 _So holla at me, I'll be in the car when you're done_

Dexter and Raven had found themselves a little corner of the party to talk in. They had hit the dance floor for a little bit but, ultimately kept finding themselves going as far from the noise as they could once songs they wanted to dance to ended.

Though, this party was far from over. More guests were continuing to show up and a familiar unhappy shriek drew the attention of all former Ever After High attendees.

"Eeeeeeeeek! Can you believe her?" Apple White's squeal only seemed to rise in pitch.

"Dumplin', c'mon. Cool it," Humphrey Dumpty, Apple's boyfriend was not having her rotten attitude.

"But, but…" The bleached-blonde princess began to argue.

Humphrey lowered his sunglasses to glare at her, "But, nothing. You're going to suck it up and not make a scene. I don't need my girlfriend on the cover of some Blondie Lockes associated magazine for throwing a tantrum and hurting my rap career."

Raven said nothing as she and Dexter watched the exchange between Apple and Humphrey unfold.

Apple pouted at Humphrey and he only lifted his sunglasses back up, "Quit making the face. I'll get us some drinks and maybe then you'll finally loosen up…"

"Hmph!" Apple crossed her arms, continued to pout but, ultimately shut up.

"How about we uh, go elsewhere?" Dexter turned to Raven.

"I'd like that," Raven offered a smile.

 _I'm stand-offish, don't want what you're offerin'_

 _And I'm done talkin', awfully sad it had to be that way_

 _So tell my people when they're ready that I'm ready_

 _And I'm standin' by the TV with my beanie low_

 _Yo I'll be over here_

Dexter and Raven didn't necessarily exit the party but, they found themselves on the flattop roof of the building. They had taken a lone staircase up here. It wasn't as if the staircase had been hidden or anything but, everyone was too busy still pouring up everything from Gold Crown Vodka to Pixie Pucker and dancing the night away that Dexter and Raven were relatively alone on the rooftop save for a handful of other partygoers either taking a moment for some fresh air or taking smoke breaks.

"Raven!" Faybelle flew up onto the roof, "I'm gonna be heading out with Gabriel and Filipe. If you and Briar go soon, don't spend the rest of your night waiting up for me…"

Faybelle stopped speaking when she saw Dexter next to Raven. But, the winged maiden quickly regained her composure, "Hey, Dexter. Long time no see."

"Nice to see you too, Faybelle!" Dexter did his best to keep a friendly tone.

Faybelle waved goodbye to the pair and flew back downstairs to leave the party with those princes that she had been dancing with all night.

"Are you ready to party all night long!?" Briar's voice boomed through some speakers and from the excited mixture of screams, it was clear that anyone still on the dance floor was indeed, set to party until the sun came up.

 _Oh oh oh here, oh oh oh here_

 _Oh oh oh I asked myself, what am I doin' here?_

 _Oh oh oh here, oh oh oh here_

 _And I can't wait 'til we can break up out of here_

 _Oh oh, oh oh_

"Why don't I call us a taxi carriage? We can go and grab a snack or something," Dexter suggested.

"That sounds nice. I really don't care what we do, I'd just really like to get out of here," Raven smiled at Dexter in thanks regardless.

"You and me both!" The bespectacled prince grabbed his glasses off of his face as his blushing began to make them fog up once more.

The pair laughed together before calling for their taxi carriage. Wherever they decided to go, they definitely had a lot of catching up to do.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Aaaaand we've come to the end. Hope this was a nice take off from SpellLine Bling and that it was fun if a bit messy; the slight messiness to this was very much** **inspired** **by the nature of the song. Thanks for reading!**_


End file.
